Our Scouts acquire knowledge about democracy and character development

We encourage creative and critical thinking skills

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Our Scout Programs appreciate how important it is for our Scouts to perform well academically.Â There are many natural advantages they receive simply by being part of our Scout Programs.Â Our Scouts acquire knowledge via learning-by-doing.Â While our Scouts learn many new skills, ideas, and concepts, we are not a school, and our Scouts are not forced to sit down and just memorize things.Â We are an informal educational platform, which helps our Scouts learn in new ways.

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Freedom to Learn and Learning Freedom

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Our Scouts gain experience with democracy every time they choose, organize, and lead their own meetings, programs, and activities.Â Our Scouts have the freedom to choose their own adventures.Â Operating with democratic governance everyday helps our Scouts acquire first hand experience about how democracy works and the role it plays in their lives.Â

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Our Scouts vote and come to a decision via consensus.Â Ours is a Scout Program by and for our Scouts, and it is they who guide team operations and give input on appearance of their uniform.

After all, they are the ones wearing it.

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Teams vote on a completely democratic and nondiscriminatory basis.Â One Scout, one vote.Â Our Scouts understand their votes count!Â Our Scouts discuss the issue and reach a consensus, meaning they discuss the issue until everyone agrees.

The concepts they develop about consensus last a lifetime.

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Character Development

Character is very personal, and it starts with good role models for our Scouts early in life.Â Our Scouts are encouraged to appreciate the value of good character and of having what they say count.Â We do not ask our Scouts to promise or swear when committing to obligations.Â Rather we consider their word their bond.Â We ask our Scouts to give their best in all that they do and consequently our Scouts appreciate that we trust them.Â We encourage our Scouts to develop a moral compass in order to do what is right, rather than what is convenient.Â

Given the opportunity to interact with others, with supervision but not interference from adults, our Scouts make choices we can all be proud of.Â Because we trust our Scouts and treat them with the integrity and respect due all persons, they choose to act with character.

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We also instill in our Scouts the Six Pillars of Character:Â trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and responsible citizenship.

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Social Comfort

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Daily, the world is becoming a smaller place.Â People from all over the globe interact together.Â Our Scouts need to be comfortable with all kinds of people from many different places and of different nationalities.Â Because we are fully nondiscriminatory and inclusive, our Scouts broaden their horizons by participating with many different people.Â Our Scouts also quickly develop a comfort level meeting and interacting with many different people, a skill they will need as they enter the working world.

Since the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are inclusive and bridge every community, our Scouts have the privilege of working together with those of differing backgrounds and life experiences.Â Our Scout Programs encourage teamwork and yet favorably encourage each of our Scouts to confidently be themselves, although they are part of a team.Â

Thinking

We instill in our Scouts creative and critical thinking skills to serve them both academically and personally.Â Â

Creative ThinkingÂ

Creative thinking is a skill which our Scouts use to generate new ideas or find relations
hips between known ideas.Â Free association is a hallmark of creative thinking.Â The most well known form of creative thinking, brainstorming, is a tool our Scouts use regularly to come up with new ideas, weigh them for how possible and popular they are, and ultimately pick one.Â

Critical ThinkingÂ

Critical thinking is a specific type of thinking which our Scouts use to improve their ability to think by analyzing the way in which they think.Â Our Scouts have the ability to set their own intellectual standards.Â The most attractive feature of critical thinking is the ability to self-correct.Â It is expected in critical thinking that new facts will be discovered and new ideas will come to light, and therefore, our Scoutsâ€™ conclusions have the ability to change given new information from the broadest number of sources.Â